Single homeless people who are rehoused:
their experiences and needs
Maureen Crane,1 Louise Joly,1 and Tony Warnes2
1 Social Care Workforce Research Unit, King’s College London
2 University of Sheffield, Sheffield
Making Research Count
Practice Development Seminar, King’s College London
4 October 2011
Topics
 The FOR-HOME study
 The transition to independent living
 Support once rehoused and housing outcomes
 Shortcomings in current resettlement practice
Aims of the FOR-HOME study
To produce longitudinal information about: (a) the
experiences of homeless people who are resettled, and
(b) the factors that influence the outcomes.
Study conducted at the University of Sheffield by Tony
Warnes, Maureen Crane and Sarah Coward. Funded by
the Economic and Social Research Council.
Partner organisations
Study design and data collection
 The sample: 400 single homeless people resettled into
independent accommodation by the six organisations. Two
clusters: London, and Nottingham / Leeds / Sheffield
(Notts/Yorks).
 Semi-structured interviews conducted immediately before
being resettled, and after 6 and 15/18 months. Key-worker also
completed questionnaire at baseline.
 Interviews from June 2007 to March 2010. Tracking exercise at
12 months to check respondents whereabouts.
Profile of the study respondents
 296 men and 104 women
 24% aged 17-24 years; 62% aged 25-49; 14% aged 50+
 56% White British, 44% other ethnicity
 Problems: 63% mental health, 33% alcohol, 57% drugs, 19%
literacy difficulties
 22% in care as a child, incl. 8% more than 5 years. A few
became homeless after leaving care.
 14% homeless more than 10 years
Experiences of being in care as a child (%)
30
Percentage of respondents
26
23
24
22
20
17
10
0
17-20
21-24
25-39
Age groups (years)
40+
All
The transition to
independent living
Managing a home (i)
 48% moved to local authority housing; 38% to housing
association tenancies; 14% to private-rented. 87% aged 60+
moved to sheltered housing.
 For many, the transition was not easy. 48% had never
previously had a tenancy, including 85% aged 17-24 years.
 78% were glad to have moved to their own accommodation –
gained independence and privacy; had control of one’s
accommodation; and able to start afresh and rebuild one’s life.
 Over time, many decorated their property, and gradually
acquired furniture and furnishings and created ‘a home’.
Managing a home (ii)
 Two-thirds without basic furniture when moved in. 17%
without essential utilities, and some accommodation in poor
condition. Many had to move soon after signing tenancy.
 At 18 months, 59% still problems with condition of
accommodation. Also 9% still no cooker, 7% no bed, 18% no
floor covering.
 Many coped well with basic household tasks (cooking,
cleaning, laundry). 29% had problems at 18 months – mainly
due to lack of equipment, but a few depressed and
unmotivated to do things.
Rebuilding lives
 At 18 months, 39% were attending an education or training
programme or were employed or doing voluntary work. This
included one-half aged 17-24 years.
 Great deal of movement in and out of work – 38% worked at
some time since being rehoused. Many jobs were casual or
through an agency, insecure, and low paid. Only 18% still in
jobs at 18 months. Many keen to work but could not find jobs.
 After being resettled, 16 women gave birth and their babies
lived with them (six also had partners move in). A further six
people had their young or teenage children move in with them.
Rent arrears and other debts
 Managing finances was major problem. Most reliant on social
security benefits and had low incomes.
 Financial difficulties led to increasing rent arrears and other
debts over time.
 Reasons for debts: outstanding debts at time resettled; rent
arrears on former tenancies and court fines resurfaced once
person rehoused; loans from social security and elsewhere to
buy furniture and furnishings; difficulties understanding /
paying utility bills; in and out of low-paid jobs affected social
security benefits; supporting family / children.
Average rent arrears (£s) by tenure
350
305
300
6 months
15/18 months
Pounds (£s)
250
187
200
150
131
110
105
100
61
50
42
38
0
Local authority
Housing
association
Private rented
All
Prevalence of debts by age
90
when resettled
15/18 months
Percentage of respondents
79
74
73
68
60
50
52
46
38
30
32
29
0
17-19
20-24
25-39
Age groups (years)
40-49
50+
Debts of £1,000 or more by age
38
Percentage of respondents
40
when resettled
15/18 months
31
26
22
18
20
18
13
13
12
5
0
17-19
20-24
25-39
Age groups (years)
40-49
50+
Support
once
rehoused
and housing
outcomes
Housing and welfare support
 Only one-half received support from a tenancy support (TS)
worker after moving.
 Young people least likely to have a TS worker yet most likely to
have no experience of independent-living. Only 27% aged 1724 had TS.
 25% returned to their former hostel for help when having
difficulties. Hostel staff unable to help with complex problems.
 Only 6% had contact with a social worker (mainly young careleavers and older people). Received help with personal /
emotional problems, money management and debts, sorting
out furniture and repairs, finding courses and training.
Support from family and relatives
 At 15/18 months, 45% saw a family member or relative at least
once a week. Some previously in care remained in touch with
their foster family.
 Young people most likely and older people least likely to have
family contact. 68% aged 17-24 but only 13% aged 50+ saw a
family member weekly.
 Relatives tended to provide emotional support, encouragement
and practical help, e.g. with laundry, meals or decorating.
 Very few received substantial financial help from relatives –
only small amounts, irregularly and in an emergency. Said
relatives not in a position to help them financially.
Housing outcomes at 15/18 months (%)
100
Original housing
87
81
Percentage of respondents
New tenancy
79
80
No tenancy
60
47
40
31
22
20
14
14
8
5
5
Local
authority
Housing
association
7
0
Private rented
All
Excludes 4 people who died and 25 unknown if still in a tenancy
Housing outcomes at 15/18 months by age (%)
90
Percentage of respondents
79
Original housing
New tenancy
No tenancy
85
83
71
60
30
16
14 15
11
11
5
6
4
25-39
40-49
50+
0
17-24
Age groups (years)
Shortcomings
in current
resettlement
practice
Shortcomings in current resettlement practice
 People have to move quickly before utilities connected and
grants obtained to buy furniture.
 Pervasiveness of increasing debts after resettlement –
inadequate financial preparation and planning.
 Reduced availability of social housing, and increased
reliance on private-rented accommodation. Higher rents of
this tenure exacerbate debt problems.
 Lack of tenancy support for vulnerable people. Many
received no help from housing or social services.
 Lack of help to enable homeless people with multiple
disadvantages to gain training, employment and become
self-sufficient.
Our warm thanks to …
All the respondents who have participated in this study over a
very long time.
Ruby Fu, Camilla Mercer and Louise Joly who have helped
massively with running the project and coding the data.
The freelance interviewers – Gary Bellamy, Paul Gilsenan, Louise
Joly and John Miles.
Members of the Management Committee: David Fisher
(Broadway), Caroline Day and Jennifer Barnes (Centrepoint),
Peter Radage and Rachel Harding (Framework), Julie Robinson
and Tony Beech (St Anne’s), Simon Hughes and George Miller (St
Mungo’s), and John Crowther and Debra Ives (Thames Reach),
and to all their colleagues who have been Link Workers or have
otherwise assisted with recruitment and tracking.
Contact details
Maureen Crane: m.a.crane@sheffield.ac.uk
Tony Warnes: a.warnes@shefffield.ac.uk
Louise Joly: louise.joly@kcl.ac.uk
Final report published 11 May 2011. Available at:
www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/kpi/scwru/res/roles/resettling